Miami Dolphins Hire Brian Flores for Head Coaching Vacancy

DAVIE, FL – FEBRUARY 4: Brian Flores answers questions from the media after being introduced as the new head coach of the Miami Dolphins on February 4, 2019 at the Miami Dolphins training facility in Davie, Florida. (Photo by Joel Auerbach/Getty Images)

Another head coaching position is officially filled. After letting go of Adam Gase, the Miami Dolphins officially hired Brian Flores as their next head coach. Flores spent 2018 as the de-facto defensive coordinator for the New England Patriots. The Miami Dolphins Twitter account confirmed the news.

Despite not holding the official title as defensive coordinator, Brian Flores spent the 2018 season calling defensive plays for the New England Patriots. Under his reign, the Patriots ended 2018 as the 16th-ranked unit in terms of DVOA. This was a marked improvement from the 2017 Patriots who finished the year as the 31st-ranked unit in DVOA.

Flores first entered the NFL back in 2004 as a scouting assistant with the New England Patriots. The former Boston College linebacker climbed his way through New England’s ranks, earning an official job as a pro scout in 2006. Flores spent two additional years working as a scout before transferring to the coaching realm.

Flores initially joined New England’s coaching staff in 2008 as a special teams coaching assistant. Flores took well to coaching, earning the title of assistant coach offense/special teams in 2010. One year later, Flores earned the title of defensive assistant.

Flores took another leap in his career when he was named the safeties coach in the 2012 season. Flores served in this role for four seasons before transitioning to the linebackers coach in 2016. It’s no secret that New England’s linebacker coach is unofficially seen as the best positional coaching position, so it came as no surprise that Flores earned playcalling duties when Matt Patricia left New England to coach the Detroit Lions.

While he never played in the National Football League, Flores was a linebacker back in college. Playing for two seasons, Flores recorded four interceptions with the Boston College Eagles from 2001 to 2002. The Eagles went 17-8 during Flores’ two years, going 7-7 against the conference.